LEGACY: Take a whirlwind trip of Europe minus the jet lag. In Temecula Valley Wine Country, centrally located between Los Angeles and San Diego, Europa Village tasting room brings three European countries together in a one-stop wine tasting tour inspired by Spain, France and Italy.

Out of the nine wines we tasted, in the company of my gal pals and boyfriend, Europa Village’s Rhone Valley-inspired C’est La Vie 2007 En Vie or the Spanish-style Bolero 2007 Tempranillowere favorites for their surprisingly complex flavor profiles without being overstated as with many California wines.

We tried to convince Stefano Butto, our reserved but charming sommelier tasting guide direct from Piancenza, Italy, to give us a wine barrel squirt of their not-yet released Italian-style Vienza 2009 Sangiovese but much to my dismay, it was not ready. It would be worth becoming a Société Europa member to have first dibs on the Vienza 2009 Sangiovese.

Want to read more about wine? Each month, the Travel Blog Mob offers up a variety of insights on a given topic. If you’re interested in some other perspectives on this liquid delight, pop over to these other posts.

To think that I live only around 90 minutes’ drive from Temecula, and still haven’t gotten to experience Europa Village! Thanks for the interesting post. It’s clearly a glaring gap in my SoCal travel knowledge.

As an award-winning travel writer, Rebecca believes that much of the joy of exploring new destinations comes from sampling the local food and beverages. Recently relocated from the East Coast to sunny Phoenix, she is now enjoying learning about her new home state. When not writing, she enjoys sleeping late, discovering great restaurants, and searching for the perfect margarita.

Rebecca’s work has been featured in numerous AAA publications, Destinations, Christian Science Monitor, Culture: The Word on Cheese, South Jersey, The Culture-ist, Societe Perrier, Sing Out!, and many others. Follow her at @rlrhoades